Figure 2
From: ST3Gal.I sialyltransferase relevance in bladder cancer tissues and cell lines
Nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancers with tendency for recurrence show slight increased expression of ST3Gal I and ST3Gal.II , compared with normal urothelium. Only patients with nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer were considered: without recurrence within a minimal period of 12 months following TURBT (IA) and experiencing recurrence in that period (IB). The relative mRNA levels of ST3Gal.I (A) and ST3Gal.II (B) genes were analyzed in bladder tumor (T) tissue and corresponding normal urothelium (U), by Real Time RT-PCR, as described in the Methods section. Values infer the number of mRNA molecules of a certain gene per 1000 molecules of the average of the endogenous controls (β-actin and GAPDH). ST3Gal.I expression is significantly increased in tissue of both subgroups of nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer, compared with the corresponding urothelium (p < 0.05), while ST3Gal.II expression is significantly decreased in tumors from group IB patients, compared with the corresponding urothelium (p < 0.01).